The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for preventing loss of service from a service provider upon failure of equipment during trial evaluations. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus that switches from new technology equipment being tested to existing technology equipment upon failure or degradation of performance of the new technology equipment.
In order to meet increasing demands of customers, service providers have begun to offer a wide variety of services. For example, service providers have begun offering services including voice, data, Internet connection, etc. These services may be offered in bundled packages. The ability to offer these services depends upon the development of equipment capable of supporting the growing number of services offered to customers. The feasibility and reliability of the equipment are determined during customer trials or Beta trials, as they are sometimes called. During Beta trials, customers in the trial disconnect from the existing equipment and connect to the new equipment. If the new equipment fails during the trial, the customers lose all service until the equipment is replaced. Consequently, the customers may lose service for an extended period of time.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for preventing the loss of service or degradation in service during new equipment trials. More particularly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for preventing loss of service or degradation in service from a service provider upon failure of equipment under test. The present invention was developed to accomplish these and other objectives.
In view of the foregoing, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for preventing the loss of service due to failure of equipment under test by switching from the equipment under test to the existing or original equipment upon failure of the equipment under test.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for monitoring the operation of the equipment under test and for switching from the equipment under test to the existing equipment upon degradation of performance of the test equipment.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus that permits the trial of new equipment with the existing equipment acting as a redundant path upon failure of the new equipment.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, presented in connection with the following drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements throughout.